Cosmoeticadotcom On the down side is the fact that the 2003 film Melvin Goes To Dinner, directed by first timer Bob Odenkirk, is a watered down yuppy version of the great 1981 Louis Malle film My Dinner With Andre. On the up side is that if you are going to imitate something, at least choose something great, for the imitation, while not great, is likely to be good, which My Dinner With Melvin is. It was written by actor/playwright Michael Blieden, adapted from his play Phyro-Giants, and had a no name cast, as opposed to 2001's similarly themed HBO film Dinner With Friends, which starred Dennis Quaid, Toni Collette, Andie McDowell, and Greg Kinnear…. the film really does chicken out of putting its characters in emotional deep water. Yes, admissions of fetishes and infidelities can titillate, but given that this was filmed only a year and a half after 9/11 you'd think there might be a touch of political dischord thrown in. They argue a bit over religion, but no character seems willing to really stand up for anything. They are all, in that sense, preening wimps.Still, I only wish there were deeper characters. Whereas Shawn and Gregory discourse on life and determinism, the four yuppies talk of things like ghosts with all the depth that a post-Angels In America America can muster, and then are amazed at each others' supposed depth, and how stimulating their conversation is. And when I reference Angels In America it's not a mere throwaway diss. There's a reason for the connection. Call it Post-Intellectualism. Call it, 'Show, don't tell.' Call it a nice try that settles for copouts. There are too many synchronicities and pallid contrivances that line up to get these four people together in the first place, and then reveal so much about themselves. Yet, it succeeds just enough that I can recommend this noble attempt, especially since the film's start and end are strong- and I mean literally the first and last few seconds of each. You may not wish you were able to join in the conversation, as you did with My Dinner With Andre, but it's still a few notches above anything you'll overhear in a real restaurant. For that, I recommend this DVD.

Polaris_DiB I had mixed feelings about this one. I went into it knowing that it was largely based on conversation with very little vestiges of plot, so I was pleasantly surprised to find that it all sort of falls into place to mean something at the end. All in all, the conversational elements are richly written and very appealing. However, that's the end... it takes a while for it to be truly enriching.Sometimes the conversation is such that you feel like you're in it, and that's probably as close to good as the cinematography and editing gets, considering in general it really isn't that well done. I can forgive the hand-held look and a lot of how the image turned out from its independent production value, but try as I might I couldn't help but feel a lot of the work was just shoddy camera operation.Sometimes the conversation isn't very appealing and I can't help but think, "I'm obviously not in this conversation because I wouldn't go there." So there's that element too, a sort of discursive alienation one feels when the conversation feels less than involving.Mostly, however, the dialog is great and the characters are amazing. There are some really great performances all around and it's definitely worth a viewing or two, or more, but even as I say that I can't help but think that the play version of this story must be absolutely amazing because of mostly the format of the two media.--PolarisDiB

jotix100 Michael Blieden wrote the play in which the film is based. "Melvin Goes to Dinner" is a fast paced adaptation directed by Bob Odenkirk. It was a refreshing movie in which the writer, Mr. Blieden, has opened up the play in a satisfying way.The premise of the film is a dinner among friends. During the dinner we get to know the dynamics among the diners. These yuppies are not the shallow individuals we might have taken them for. During the course of the dinner while the tongues get loose with the drinking, we realize what's really going on. The conversation is easy, and friendly, which is what happens when people that haven't seen one another for some period of time, will pick up where they left off the last time they met. The young cast is likable. The author, Michael Blieden plays the leading role of Melvin. Matt Rice is Joey. Annabelle Gurwitch is Sarah, the woman who is connected to one of the friends in a way the others have no idea. The revelation makes sense. Stephanie Courtney, as Alex, is good. Jack Black appears in a cameo.Bring another bottle of Pinot Noir, please!

Charles Herold (cherold) Movies made up entirely of conversation are tricky. The amazing thing about My Dinner with Andre was, you had two people sitting in a restaurant talking for an hour and a half and it was riveting. Since I only watched about a half hour I can't say if this whole movie is conversations, but what I saw is a string of conversations mixed in with flashbacks that may also be conversations. So it's basically a lot of talking.It's sort of interesting conversation, although nothing really new. And this may explain something pointed out by another reviewer here, that this movie gets much lower ratings from those over 45. I think their point was, middle-aged and old people just don't get it, but perhaps the problem is they got it long ago. Perhaps we've all had these conversations many times in our lives and just don't find any of this new or original or profound. I'm 45, I've had too many of these conversations. It gets old. So if you're young, watch the movie, enjoy it, and then watch it again when you're 45 and see what you think.